Conferenza Stampa/Press Conference 8 luglio 2016

[English]

8 July 2016

Castiglione del Lago—The Umbra Institute-DePauw University Archaeological Project in the Comune of Castiglione del Lago has completed the first season of excavation at the Vaiano-Gioiella ‘Villa’ site. Authorized by the Ministero dei Beni Culturali and the Soprintendenza Archeologica dell’Umbria, the archaeological project is a collaboration between The Umbra Institute (Perugia), DePauw University (Indiana, USA), and Intrageo. The excavations were conducted with the support of the Comune of Castiglione del Lago and the Archeo Trasimeno group. The excavation directors are Giampiero Bevagna (Umbra Institute), Pedar Foss (DePauw University), Rebecca Schindler (DePauw University), and Stefano Spiganti (Intrageo).

The archaeological site “La Villa” is located on a hill to the north of Lago di Chiusi. To the east of the site there is also an ancient road and a cistern for collecting water, both of which probably date to the Roman period. A surface survey of the Vaiano-Gioiella Villa site conducted in 2015 revealed that the site was occupied, but perhaps not continuously, from the 2nd century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D. The distribution of material recovered from the surface in 2015 also suggested that this was a large complex with at least two distinct building areas: one to the south, where fragments belonging to a thermal structure were recovered, and another to the north.

The 2016 excavation season began on 6 June. Due to the intense rain at the beginning of the month, the excavations were interrupted for over a week. In the end, the excavation team was able to work in the field for approximately 15 days. During that time four squares were excavated. Based on the survey information from 2015, the project began excavation on the eastern edge of the site. Two distinct areas of debris accumulated sue to subsequent activity on the site were uncovered as well as a collapse from a building that included roof tiles and part of a cocciopesto – over 153 kg of tile within an area of 1×4 meters. The most interesting discovery this season is a channel that was cut into the natural sediment and then covered with tiles pitched to form a triangular covering. This appears to be a drainage system, even though it does not have a bottom that would allow water to flow but was constructed directly on the natural sediment. The channel is at least 6.5 meters long but its overall length remains to be discovered.

The materials from the excavation confirm that there was a thermal complex on the site as there are examples of tiles for heating a floor, tubuli for heating the walls, and mosaic fragments. The excavations also uncovered several examples of Sigillata Italica (Aretina) with stamps from the manufacturers. Moreover, the recovery of numerous artifacts with traces of burning indicates that ceramics and possibly metals were produced at the villa complex.